Renown Health is expanding its video health consultation network to four rural hospitals in Nevada.
Reno Public Radio’s Noah Glick reports.
The videoconferencing service, known as telehealth, allows doctors in Reno to connect with patients in rural areas who may not have access to specialty services, like neurology or pediatrics.
Kirk Gillis is the vice president for accountable care with Renown, and he says the need for specialty care in rural areas is critical.
“A patient in a rural community, and their primary care provider in that community said, ‘You need to see a specialist.’ The nearest specialist is 200 miles away in Reno, Nevada. They may or may not forego that care, because they may or may not be able to make that trip,” he says.
Four hospitals in Nevada have joined the network, including those in Lovelock, Hawthorne, Battle Mountain and Caliente.
This expansion is part of a more than $436,000 grantawarded to Renown TeleHealth from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
